Wall construction



L. A. BERGER WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 30, JLQEE;

Oct. 19

Patented Oct. 19, 1926.

' UNITED ESTATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS A. BERGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, :BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,T0 WILLIAM J. RYAN, 0F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, DOING BUSINESS AS BYBERMANUFACTURING COMPANY.

WALL CONSTRUCTION.

Application led January 30, 1925. Serial No. 5,698.

This invention relates to a wall or partition construction forbuildings, being particularly concerned with the method or stepsemployed in connecting wall boards to supports therefor in such mannerthat the resulting surfaces will be suitable for direct applicationthereto of a decorative material and with the means for securing thewall board in place to form a strong, easily erected, and smooth wall.It is accordingly an object of my invention to secure the wall board inplace non-defaceably, and bymeans which may be readily and inexpensivelyproduced and installed.

Another object of my invention is to produce a strong` smooth wall. soconstructed as to be available for practically immediate use Withoutplastering or mortaring, and

having a very high percentage 'of salvageable material.

The wall construction with which my invention is particularly concernedis preferably fire-proof. It makes use of three principal constituents,viz, (1) sheet metal studdings, or other supports, (2) wall boardsproduced from a composition of plaster, fibre, asbestos, or otherwise,and (3) means by which the boards are secured to the studdings orsupports either adjacent the board ends or intermediately thereof. It isparticularly with the manner in which such fastening means are appliedin place,

that the present improvements havev to do.

Other objects and purposes of my invention will appear hereinafter fromthe speciication and claims and from the accompanying` drawing wherein-Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of a partition constructedaccording tothe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through a portion of such partition;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a punching tool which prepares the board andstudding for the reception of the fastening. means;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in section through the board and studdingshowing the tool inserted therein; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view with the fastening means in place.

In the several figures of the drawing the studdings are designated asl Aandthe wall boards as B. Adjacent the floors, ceilings, outside walls,etc., the studding construction may be modified to suit particularrequirements. For example, a channel track 6 may be used advantageously'adjacent the floor and ceiling, a half stud 7 adjacent an outside wallor at the intersection of two partitions, and at a partition corner aspecial stud .8, such as is shown in Fig. 2, may perhaps be employed toadvantage. lin all such cases, however, the sheet metal character of thesupport is preserved, so that the problem of connecting the wall'boa-rds thereto remains the same.

Referring n'ow to Fig. 3, I have shown a tool in the form of a punchhaving a handle 10, one end 11` of which is adapted to receive blowsfrom a hammer or other instrument. Projecting from the opposite handleend 12 is a shank 13 which terminates in a point 14. With such a tool llam able to pierce a hole through the body of a wall board and metallicsupport upon the rear side thereof. In performing this operation thetool reaches a nal position. such as appears in Fig. 4, where itspointed end is shown as having formed or displaced inwardly a portion ofthe support body to form a lip 15 which surrounds the aperture thusmade. Adjacent the handle end 12 is a fillet 16 which acts to crushslightly the outer face of the board when the tool is driven in to itsintended limit. 'llhe driving of the tool to this position is, ofcourse, accomplished with rapidity following which it is withdrawn andapplied repeatedly to other places where additional holes may bedesired.

The upright studding used is preferably box-like, to secure thenecessary strength and rigidity under the above described piercingoperation. rll`he term box-like, therefore, as used in the specificationand claims, indicates studding strong enough and rigid enough towithstand the stresses of the piercing operation.

After preparing holes in the boards and metallic supports in the mannerabove eX- plained, fastening screws are inserted. Each screw is formedwith a threaded shank 17 having one end pointed as at 18. its other endbeing formed with a head 19 which is preferably flat andnconical,asshown. -`The hole resulting from the insertion -`of. the punch issubstantiallythe size. ofthe screw shank so that the screw threads willtake; a. i

tight hold upon the surrounding parts. This is true particularly of thesheet metal studding with whose lip the screw threads effect a verysecure engagement. As the screw is tightened there is a tendency to drawthis lip back towards its 'original position with the result that Iobtain a most secure connection between these parts.

With advancement of each screw to final osition, its head 19 Will bepressed into the Ecard until its flat end is flush with the facethereof. As the result of employing a screw having thesecharacteristics, I provide means for fastening at desired places theseveral boards to the studdings, or other support, in a non-defaceableand unobtrusive manner. The tire-proof characteristics of such a walland partition are preserved intact, and in addition it becomesunnecessary to incur the heavy additional expense of applying thereto acoat of plaster. To such a Wall or partition decorative material may bedirectly applied, the joints, screw heads, etc., being readily concealedby putty in the usual manner.

I claim:

1. The method of constructing a wall comprising a boxlike metallicsupport, a composition Wall board adjacent thereto, and a Hat head screwconnectin one with the other, which consists in erecting the boardadjacent rial surrounding the hole to connect the board to the supportand the screw head being receivable Hush within the crushed surface ofthe board, substantially as described.

2. A Wall construction comprising a hollow box-like metallic studding, acomposition wall board adjacent the studding, said wall board having acountersunk hole therethrough, said studding having a hole adja- Y' centthe wall board hole, and a securing dcvice passing through the holes anddetachably securing the board to the studding and seating in thecountersink in flush relation to the outer face of the board.

3. A wall construction comprising a hollow box-like metallic studding, acomposition Wall board adjacent the studding, said wall board having acountersunk hole therethrough, said studding having a hole adjacent theWall board hole, and a fiat headed securing screw passing through theholes, the screw threads engaging the studding and the screw headseating flush with the outer .i'ace of the board.

LOUIS A. BERGER.

